VERY Worried Mother

Hi A... My son is 3 and he sits and wiggles his feet and flaps his arm/hands..He has been doing this since he was 9 months old.. we never have looked into this behavior. He is very smart and talked early and is very observent. so we have never worried about it. He usually does this when he is excited or watching other kids play. I hope this help you M.

If your worried about it, I would suggest asking your Dr. and start reading. My son was diagnosed with Sensory integration when he was 3- similar to Autism. You might want to look at this link: http://www.out-of-sync-child.com/
Great information. My son is now 10 and doing awesome- he also spent 2 years in Occupational Therapy from age 3-5- which helped him trememdously.

Every child progresses at a different pace-this might be his way of expressing himself? If you notice any other differences in his development such as slow speech development or withdrawn from others, severe mood swings then you will want to start researching, reading and getting intouch with someone where you can get the right answers for your child. In any case- early detection is key to your child's success.. Go with your instincts because I believe MaMa knows best..

Blessings, C.

Hi A.,

The habit of jumping up and down and flapping his hands is called stemming. The way it was explained to me (my 13 year old stems and has done so since his toddler years)is a repetative movement that the child uses to calm himself and/or makes him feel as if he is in control of a situation.

We were worried when we first noticed JJ stemming but have since learned to accept the compunction he feels to do so. We have tried to stop the behavior but soon realized that it is in his nature to stem. My son generally stems when he arrives at home from school (a very stressful situation for him) and has modified his stemming so as not to be noticed while he is in school.

My son was diagnosed as Asperger's Syndrome (a high fundtioning form of autism) just this last year. I am in no way implying that your child might have AS but if you'd like to see the criteria for being diagnosed as AS you can visit http://www.aspergers.com/aspcrit.htm and then rule out the possibility or catch it early and make an appointment with a doctor. AS is treatable and there are support groups that can aide you if your son is diagnosed as AS. If you would like more information about the free support group I attend you can email me at ____@____.com

Good luck

W. Q

Hi A. I have a special needs five year old daughter beautiful Victoria Rose she also flaps her arms and clasps her hands all the time I would talk to your Pediatrian but if he is a typical child and this is the only thing he does different I wouldnt get to excited. sounds like you need to talk to you ped just to have piece of mind. God Bless Vickie

Hand flapping is a common characteristic of autism, but it's not the only thing. Does he have good eye contact? How is he with social interaction, not just you but with other kids? How are his language skills? Those are some of the things they look at when they are looking for autism. If you are really concerned, the best thing to do it take him to see your doctor. They can then refer you on to someone to do a formal evaluation. You want a formal diagnosis to get the services you will need. In the mean time, any questions, let me know. I have a 7-year old with autism.
E.

Hi A.,
First don't let yourself get TOO worried yet. Hand flapping is a common symptom of Autism but it's not even close to being the biggest one. If your child isn't socializing with others, not looking people in the eyes or seeminly unaware of other people's feeling or intentions, then that's a bigger sign that it could be Autism. Also, if he doesn't play pretend of his speech is developmentally delayed. As far as "Angelman" syndrome goes, it's not something recognized by the American Psychological Association , which is not to say it doesn't exist, but people come up with new labels for kids everyday. Hand flapping tends to be an anxiety reliever in kids with or without a mental disorder. To be very blunt, some kids do weird stuff to make themselves feel better. If your son is developing normally mentally and socially then I honestly wouldn't worry about it. If not, then go see your doctor and get an expert opinion. good luck!

I am a student of special education and there are a number of disabilities that go along with that. The ones you mentioned as well as fragile X but you would also have some other indications of any of these. I had a cousin that did something similar and nothing was ever diagnosed that is just a quirk she had that went away over time. If you are really concerned I would talk to your doctor to at least ease your mind!
G.

He could just be playing. Or maybe just trying to show off. Try not be so worried unless u feel it is harmful to him or those around. best of luck to you and hang in there dear.

Hi!
I've been worrying about the same thing!! My 4.5 yr old boy jumps up and down flapping his hands, walks on his tip toes and seems overly interested in vents, garage doors, and garbage cans. But, on the other hand he is very social, friendly, smart, etc. So I don't know what to think. Most kids I've seen with autism don't talk, make eye contact, etc. But my guy is normal in all those areas. He goes to preschool where he has a special ed teacher because of his low muscle tone, he gets OT. She says he could possibly be on the "spectrum" but it would be a mild case. I don't know if we should seek a diagnosis or what. My husband and I go back and forth about whether or not there is anything wrong. He seems so normal to us, cuz he's our special little man, but when I see him around other kids I notice his quirks. Some people just say oh it's fine he has quirks and leave it at that, but I don't know if we should investigate further. It's all so confusing and scary!!
Christine